Ceramic matrix composites have been identified as candidate materials for components in the hot-section of jet engines due to their high temperature capability, low weight, and low coefficient of thermal expansion. In some instances these components are manufactured by laying up stacked 2D cloth or using 3D laminates to form a fiber preform, depositing a fiber-matrix interphase coating and rigidizing the fiber preform through chemical vapor infiltration (CVI), infiltrating the rigidized preform with a ceramic slurry to form an impregnated preform, and melt infiltrating the impregnated preform with molten silicon to render the composite nearly fully dense.
When performing CVI in a conventional “batch style” reactor 100, such as that shown in FIG. 1, gradients in deposition rate may occur throughout the reactor 100. This is particularly true when comparing deposition rates between levels; reaction product gases produced during deposition on the upstream levels can reverse bias the deposition reactions on the downstream levels, thereby reducing the deposition rate. An improved CVI method that reduces or eliminates downstream contamination from reaction product gases and improves the uniformity of the CVI process would be advantageous.